officially crossed the Antarctic Circle (current position is nearly
66S), temperatures drop to -8C with wind chill (and let me tell you,
it is definitely windy - average speeds of 25 knots), ocean
temperatures fall to -1.6C, and most importantly, we are amongst the
sea-ice! This is what I came to see.
The ice is still fairly sporadic so we are constantly going through
thicker regions, into areas of open ocean, and back to more sea-ice.
Most of the ice isn't very consolidated, so not much ice-breaking has
been required, but I have been knocked around a few times when the
Aurora stumbles into a particularly thick block of ice. It definitely
feels good being back in the ice, with a feeling of déjà vu hitting
me often. In fact, I swear to God I saw an iceberg today that I also
saw last year. I was laughed at for even suggesting this. With
sea-ice should come wildlife, but alas, the wildlife spottings have
been few and far between. Nevertheless, I did see my first penguin of
the season!! In fact I saw three. All Adelies, waddling around and
wondering what the hell this big orange thing floating by is. No seal
sightings as of yet, and also no whales. Come on free willy, I want
to see you! As we near the coast, I'm sure the sightings will become
more regular. I hope so anyway.
Tomorrow, the science begins. We are set to do our first CTD at ~5am,
which means an early morning for me. This first CTD will be at the
same location that Mawson sampled at 100 years ago - quite fitting
really considering we are on his centenary expedition. Following
this, we are sampling along the Mertz Glacier front. Once again, I'm
hoping for good weather - I'm told the Mertz is pretty spectacular so
it would be a shame if our viewing was hindered by the ever present
low cloud/mist that follows us.
I had my first trial of my new GoPro today - it wasn't a great
success. My vision was for a nice time lapse as we travel through the
ice, but unfortunately the aforementioned low cloud has also brought
drizzle/rain with it. Consequently, the GoPro casing was the home to
more than a few rain drops which spoilt the photo to say the least.
Nevertheless, it was a good "dry run", and hopefully in days to come
I will produce some nice video.
Also, of considerable other news. Today I drank two cups of tea...TWO!
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